WWL: News discussion of assessor consolidation

NEWORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research has condemned Orleans Parish’s seven assessor
system and recommended consolidating the offices as a long overdue change.

In a two-page report, the nonprofit watchdog organization said the current system wastes
money and is prone to corruption and inefficiency. It also noted that Orleans is the only parish in
Louisiana with more than one assessor, despite having similar and in some cases smaller
workloads.

The seven-assessor system in Orleans Parish has become a hot target in the wake of Katrina.
Governor Kathleen Blanco tried to consolidate the offices during a special legislative session last
month, but the bill was shot down by a committee that includes relatives of two Orleans
assessors.

In a post-Katrina effort to change the system, a slate of seven candidates qualified to run for
each of the assessor positions on a platform to forgo their combined annual salaries and
expenses to hire a private professional appraisal firm to assess property.

However, the “I-Q for I Quit” ticket sustained setbacks in the past two weeks when judges ruled
that two of the candidates could not list “I-Q” as a nickname on the April 22nd ballot because it
constituted a campaign slogan.

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